Lalu, Left support Women's Bill

New Delhi: RJD chief Lalu Prasad, who has stiffly resisted the Women Reservation's Bill, on Wednesday said he was not against the proposed legislation but would like to see women from poor sections of society benefit from it.

"I am not against the women's bill as being portrayed by some political parties and the media. All I say is that women from poor sections of society should be the ones to benefit from such reservation," Prasad said here.

The RJD president said that he and leaders like Mulayam Singh Yadav opposed the Bill in Parliament as they wanted to prevent 'elite' women from taking advantage of reservation and occupying important posts.

Meanwhile, the Left also demanded an early passage of the Women's Bill, saying the legislation should not be "delayed" anymore as women demand equal space in the democratic set-up.

The Bill was passed in the Rajya Sabha last year and it is waiting to be cleared by the Lower House of Parliament since then.

Raja said there were suggestion from some political parties and from Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar that the Bill be passed first and then "genuine and real issues relating to women" can be discussed later on, "but some parties even today do not agree to it.

He, however, expressed hope that the Bill will be passed. "It is a question of time".

Raja was speaking at a function on the Reservation's Bill, also attended by JD (U) leader Shivanand Tiwari and All India Mahila Congress president Prabha Thakur.

Thakur said her party sought to build a consensus before tabling the Bill in the Lok Sabha and preventing any unruly scenes witnessed during the passage of the Bill in the Rajya Sabha.

She said the party had introduced the Bill first in the Rajya Sabha so that it does not get "lapsed".